A three-day forum on the Participation of NGOs in the 42nd Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights and 16th African Human Rights Book Fair, on Saturday opened at the Meridian Hotel, Congo Brazzaville.

The forum was organised by the Banjul-based African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies, in collaboration with the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights.

According to a release issued by ACDHRS, the forum is one of the main advocacy tools that the African Centre uses to advance networking among civil society organisations working in Africa, for the promotion and protection of human rights in continent. 

"Between 1990 and 1994, ACDHRS collaborated with the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), Geneva, in facilitating the participation of civil society organisations, academicians and other professionals from Africa and beyond in the African

Commission's sessions. However, since April 2000, the ACDHRS has facilitated the participation of NGOs and individuals in the sessions, in collaboration with the African Commission and other Human Rights Organisations working for Africa," said the release.

The objective of the forum, the release went on, is to foster closer collaboration among NGOs and with the African Commission, with the sole aim of promoting and protecting human rights in Africa.

 Participants to the forum will comprise human rights organisations from Africa and beyond, numbering about a hundred. Resource persons for the forum will be eminent activists and experts dealing with human rights issues in Africa. The forum will be conducted in English and French with simultaneous interpretation.

The African Centre, according to the release, also organised the 16th African Human Rights Book Fair, which runs simultaneously with the forum and the Public Sessions of the African Commission.

 Both the forum and the Book Fair will enable civil society representatives to network and initiate or renew the exchange of materials and information, as well as to publicise their activities. Participants to the forum contributed to the Book Fair by displaying publications and/or documentaries of their organisations.

In addition to the Book Fair, a film on Human Rights entitled: 'The other side of the country' will be shown to provide a vivid and authentic picture of the human rights violations and atrocities that occur during armed conflict.  The viewing of this film will hopefully emphasise the need to put an end to such incidents.

A special feature of this year's forum says the release will be the commemoration of the twentieth anniversary of the coming into force of 'the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights'. "The Long Road to Rights", a publication in commemoration of the 20th Anniversary of the African Commission will also be launched during the forum. 

"Discussions will centre on assessing and evaluating the impact of the Charter in relation to the adherence to human rights principles in our continent. It is hoped that the outcome or lessons learnt will enable the African Centre and its collaborators, engaged in the promotion and protection of human rights, to embark on more strategic interventions in our continent," the release concluded.